SERVER RULES

1. General Requirements

1. Players must be 18 or older.
2. A working microphone is required. Mute characters are allowed, but the player must be able to communicate with staff OOC when required.
3. Zentra is an English-language server for administrative purposes. Characters may speak other languages in RP, but players must communicate in English when addressed OOC by staff.
4. Players must have access to Discord and be in the Zentra Discord because applications, announcements, events, support, and other server communication use it.
5. Characters must use realistic state/legal names. Nicknames may be used in RP.
6. Keep all of your characters separate. Money, items, property, information, relationships, or assets may not be transferred between your own characters to gain an advantage.
7. Remain in character while in city. If a rule issue occurs, finish the scene when reasonably possible and report it afterward rather than breaking character to argue.
8. Do not DM staff/owners for routine support. Use /report or the proper ticket/channel.

1.1 Permadeath & New Life Rule

• Permadeath is allowed but may not be used to escape criminal charges, debts, investigations, or other accountability. Notify staff through the designated ticket process when permanently ending a character.
• NLR is triggered when a character respawns after death/fatal injury. The character loses memory of the death, the person(s) responsible, and up to 30 minutes immediately before the death.
• If EMS treats and saves the character without a full respawn, the character may remember being attacked but should not perfectly recall details that their injuries reasonably prevent them from remembering.
• A surviving witness may later tell the character what happened. This does not restore impossible first-hand memories.
• A player who is treated/revived may not immediately rejoin the same active scene and must roleplay their injuries.

1.2 Emergency Services & Impersonation

• Police equipment may not be stolen. Up to half of replaceable consumables such as approved food, armor, or ammunition may be taken where the server rules allow it.
• Only one person may actively rob the same officer at a time.
• EMS may be taken hostage when supported by RP but may not be robbed.
• Emergency services may use bodycam/dashcam evidence unless it was reasonably destroyed or disabled in RP. Civilians must establish an IC recording device such as a phone, GoPro, or dashcam before relying on recordings IC.
• Impersonating PD, Marshals, EMS, or DOJ is allowed only when supported by a legitimate RP scenario. Abuse of government impersonation may be punished.
• No assassination/hitman RP and no revenge RP.

2. Character & Roleplay Standards

• All interactions should create roleplay rather than rush directly to mechanics, robbery, or violence.
• Use realistic character knowledge. A mask generally prevents identification by face/voice alone unless a continuing, distinctive identity has been established through RP.
• Roleplay injuries both before and after medical treatment. Follow reasonable medical instructions and continue injury RP for an appropriate period based on severity.
• Do not use OOC terminology or arguments to break immersion during active scenes. Report rule concerns after the scene.
• Respect other players in and out of RP. Harassment and derogatory attacks based on protected characteristics are not tolerated.
• Torture RP requires consent from all involved players. Consent may be withdrawn.
• Do not force sexual RP. Sexual assault/rape RP is prohibited. ERP is prohibited under Zentra rules.
• Suicide RP is prohibited under the current server rules.

2.1 Value of Life

• Value your character's life. When clearly outmatched or held at gunpoint without a realistic escape, comply with reasonable demands.
• Do not perform obviously lethal actions without appropriate equipment or story reason simply because game mechanics allow survival.
• Being brave, reckless, criminal, or confrontational is allowed; treating your character as disposable is not.

4. Powergaming, Exploits & FailRP

4.1 Powergaming

• Do not force outcomes that remove another player's reasonable opportunity to roleplay or respond.
• Do not exploit missing mechanics, bugs, animations, menus, instances, desync, AFK status, or other technical limitations to gain an advantage.
• Do not escort/carry someone through mechanics in ways the game does not reasonably support, such as escorting while driving.
• Do not attack or rob players who are stuck in menus, animations, character creation, teleport/instance transitions, or otherwise unable to react.
• Do not use radio/phone while cuffed when the mechanics/RP would prevent it.
• Large/two-handed weapons must be retrieved in a believable way, such as from a bag or vehicle storage.
• Do not use server restarts to gain an advantage. Major criminal activity is prohibited during the 10 minutes before and after a scheduled restart.
• Report exploitable bugs to staff. Knowingly abusing or concealing an exploit may result in punishment.

4.2 Fail / Poor RP

• Do not bait government services simply to provoke a chase, shootout, robbery, or reaction.
• Do not interfere with an active scene without a legitimate RP reason.
• Do not drive recklessly at extreme speeds, across sidewalks, or off-road without a valid RP reason.
• Do not log out before a scene is finished unless unavoidable.
• Do not use friends to 'mercy kill' your character to bypass medical or scene consequences.
• Do not drive normal vehicles/motorcycles into buildings unless the location and vehicle reasonably support it.
• Do not use the player list or other OOC information to avoid specific players or RP.
• Willing hostages are prohibited.
• Job camping is prohibited. Do not repeatedly wait at legal jobs to tax, rob, or farm workers.

4.3 Evidence for Reports

Video is strongly recommended for disputed player reports. There is no universal minimum clip length: evidence must show enough context for staff to make a fair decision. Staff may request additional footage, logs, screenshots, or witness information.

3. Player-vs-Player Rules

3.1 RDM & VDM

RDM is killing or attempting to kill another player/group without a valid RP reason or sufficient roleplay leading to the violence. VDM is intentionally using a vehicle as a weapon without valid RP or using vehicle mechanics unrealistically to harm others.

• Restart time does not suspend RDM/VDM rules.
• Accidents should be roleplayed. Leaving after running someone over without acknowledging the collision may become FailRP/VDM depending on context.
• Intentionally ramming vehicles to injure players or cause explosions without valid RP is prohibited.
• Existing, properly established gang conflict may change how much new interaction is required, but it never authorizes random killing outside the applicable gang/war rules.

3.2 Robbery, Interaction & Pocket Wiping

• Players must have meaningful interaction before robbing or killing someone. The existing baseline remains at least 60 seconds unless a specific scene or approved gang-war rule clearly provides otherwise.
• You need a legitimate RP reason to rob or kill someone. Walking up to an unrelated stranger solely to farm their inventory is not acceptable.
• Do not pocket wipe. A robbed player must retain a reasonable means to identify themselves and seek help; do not take both their identification and phone.
• Do not force victims to withdraw money from ATMs, sell property, or sell vehicles.
• If a compliant robbery victim is still going to be killed, there must be an additional story-based reason beyond the random robbery itself.

3.3 Combat Logging

Disconnecting to escape an active scene is prohibited. If a crash or unavoidable disconnect occurs, make a reasonable effort to reconnect and contact the involved parties. If you cannot return, open a staff ticket explaining what happened.

5. Criminal Regulations

• Maximum criminal participation is six people unless a more specific robbery/heist/gang rule sets a lower limit.
• Where a scene uses four primary criminals, up to two externals may stall, intercept, talk, or divert attention; they are not a second full group.
• Do not chain-rob players, stores, or banks. Allow time for stories, police response, and consequences to develop.
• No hostage taking at government facilities such as City Hall, police stations, Marshal facilities, hospitals, or courthouses.
• Criminal areas are not automatic KOS zones. Interaction is still required.
• Do not camp crime-related areas simply to farm other players.
• NPCs may not be used as participants in criminal activity under the current rule set.
• Give your character time between crimes. Repeated crime in a short period may reasonably lead to greater police attention, investigations, fines, and jail consequences.
• If police do not arrive after a robbery is completed, criminals are free to leave rather than wait indefinitely.

5.1 Hostages & Demands

A scene may use up to three total demands unless a specific approved rule provides otherwise.

Willing hostages are prohibited. A group's own members may not be used as hostages to manufacture demands.

6. Vehicle Chases

• Do not use stunt jumps during active vehicle chases.
• Excessive intentional ramming is prohibited. Incidental contact ('bubbles') is different from repeatedly using a vehicle to force someone out of a chase.
• Drivers may not fire weapons while actively driving. A stopped/parked driver may fire if otherwise permitted.
• Do not switch drivers while the vehicle is actively moving.
• Ocean dumping is allowed as RP, but do not place items into the vehicle immediately before dumping it solely to prevent lawful recovery/search.

8. Safe Zones

Safe zones are not magical green zones, but locations where major violence, gun/knife fights, gang beef, and serious crime should not occur without exceptional, properly developed RP.

• Hospitals
• Police Departments
• Courthouse
• Casino
• City Jobs
• Recycling
• Clothing Stores

Players in menus such as garages, clothing stores, barber shops, or character creation are off limits because they cannot reasonably react. A player may not flee into a safe zone during an active criminal chase to escape consequences.

7. Government Job Regulations

• Government corruption RP requires prior staff approval through a ticket and a legitimate storyline.
• IC corruption may be investigated by the appropriate law-enforcement/DOJ structure. OOC rule violations remain a staff matter.
• Government job blacklists may apply to one character or multiple characters depending on the IC/OOC reason and the authority issuing it.
• A character may not simultaneously hold two law/government justice positions that create a conflict, such as DOJ and LSPD, unless a future written policy explicitly permits it.
• Government departments are expected to treat each other professionally. Department-wide OOC conflict may be escalated to staff.

11. EMS & Police Interactions

11.1 EMS

• After sending a distress signal, give EMS a reasonable opportunity to respond. The existing baseline is at least six minutes.
• Do not call EMS and then immediately have friends transport you away unless EMS instructs you to move or the scene creates a legitimate emergency reason.
• /doctor is for situations where no EMS is available and may not be used during an active scene. Wait 3-5 minutes after the scene ends before using local help.
• Roleplay injuries and provide EMS with useful /me information when appropriate.
• If a friend is transported to Pillbox after EMS was called, coordinate with EMS rather than bypassing their RP.

11.2 Police

• Police are expected to act professionally; civilians should provide the basic level of respect/fear appropriate to armed law enforcement and the scene.
• Cop baiting is prohibited. Do not create pointless crimes or harassment solely to gain police attention.
• Do not intentionally pull police away from another active scene without a legitimate RP reason.
• Robbing police requires legitimate RP and meaningful buildup; officers are not loot boxes.
• Provide reasonable /me information during investigations when game mechanics cannot communicate physical evidence.

12. Gang & Organization RP

All criminal rules apply to gangs and organizations. The separate Zentra Gang & Organization Rules provide the detailed roster, turf, war, hot-spot, recognition, whitelist, and discipline system.

• Gang wars require meaningful RP and may not disrupt normal civilian areas/events without consequence.
• War parameters must be agreed through the approved process; core server rules such as RDM/VDM cannot be waived.
• Organizations cannot control more than one approved illegal hot spot unless staff announces otherwise.
• Do not impersonate another gang.
• Organization membership/scene limits must follow the separate Gang & Organization Rules and any lower limits imposed by a specific heist/robbery.

13. Whitelisted Organizations

• A group cannot enter the city and shoot its way into recognition. Constant shootouts, forced beef, and violence without story may delay or prevent recognition.
• Recognition is earned through sustained RP: lore, identity, connections, allies/rivals, business/criminal stories, civilian/government interaction, leadership, and rule compliance.
• Recognition is not based on money, weapons, kills, member count, or OOC purchases.
• Recognition does not guarantee whitelist approval.
• Zentra may maintain a maximum of six whitelisted gangs/criminal organizations.
• A minimum of five active members is required to apply and remain whitelisted under the current rules.
• Only approved Whitelisted Organizations may purchase the official organization bundle/package.
• The whitelist bundle may include an MLO, organization vehicles, weapon benefits/access, clothing, custom drug benefits, and other announced assets.
• Limited custom clothing may potentially be approved for a Recognized pre-whitelist organization, but only through a staff ticket before purchase/addition.
• MLOs, organization vehicles, weapon benefits, custom drug benefits, and the full bundle remain whitelist-only unless Zentra explicitly announces otherwise.
• Purchasing anything never grants recognition or whitelist status.

9. TOS & Content Creation

• ERP and erotic public emotes/animations are prohibited.
• Zentra supports content creators. Players should avoid conduct that knowingly creates unnecessary platform-TOS problems for people streaming/recording around them.
• Use available streamer-mode tools when appropriate for copyright-sensitive audio.

10. Roleplay Terminology

10.1 Speed Limits

• Highways / outside city limits: 85 mph.
• City limits / county roadways: 55 mph.
• Red lights are treated as stop-and-go under the current city traffic convention.

14. Imports, Purchases & Property

14.1 Vehicles

• Players are limited to five 1-of-1 vehicle purchases under the current rule; normal imports are excluded from that count.
• 1-of-1 vehicles may be sold in city for in-city currency only.
• Imported/1-of-1 vehicles are not immune from crime or lawful impound.
• 1-of-1 choices are final unless Development determines the asset is technically unfixable/undriveable.
• Some vehicles may be denied as 1-of-1s. Ask in a ticket before purchasing when uncertain.

14.2 Weapons

• Custom imported weapons are not sold directly as individual real-money weapon purchases under the current rule set.
• Zentra may offer custom weapon skins or organization-specific access through in-city systems when approved.
• Organization weapon benefits are governed by whitelist status and the current organization package.

14.3 Purchase Terms

• Purchases are final except where applicable law/platform terms require otherwise.
• Purchases must use Zentra's approved storefront/payment process.
• Leaving the city or being removed for conduct does not create an automatic refund entitlement.
• Organization clothing/assets may be removed from active server use when an organization leaves, disbands, or loses the status required for those assets, subject to the applicable purchase terms.

14.4 Property & Businesses

• Houses and businesses may be acquired through the systems/catalogs announced by Zentra, including in-city purchase options where offered.
• Property is subject to applicable in-city taxes.
• Long-term inactive property may eventually return to the market under the current property policy; the existing guideline is generally no sooner than 3-4 months IRL.
• Businesses may not operate as passive income. Players must be actively in city for the business to be open and should roleplay operations.
• Businesses are not automatically gang-exclusive. Gang ownership does not justify refusing customers based only on colors without proper RP.
• Zentra may limit business categories, such as mechanic shops, to protect city variety.

15. Enforcement & Reporting

• Not knowing the rules is not an excuse for violating them.
• Staff may use warnings, individual punishments, organization strikes, scene corrections, or other actions according to the current Staff Guidelines and punishment standards.
• Report issues with /report or through the proper Discord ticket system.
• Do not break character to argue about rules during an active scene unless staff directly intervenes.
• Evidence should provide enough context for staff to make a fair decision. Staff may request more evidence when needed.
• Rule changes should be announced and applied consistently going forward.